Request for ‘Gum’ Sends Texas High School Into Panic Mode

Some will call it an over abundance of caution, others will call it pure panic. Call it what you will, but a simple misunderstanding set a Hays County CISD school on edge for a short time on Wednesday.

KCEN-TV in Waco reports that a student asked another for some 'gum'. A fellow student overheard the conversation and interpreted 'gum' as 'gun' and, well, you can almost guess what happens next.

The student who misunderstood what was said reported that he heard someone talking about a 'gun'. Students were held in their classrooms while the matter was investigated. No gun was found. No word on what flavor or brand of gum was involved.

As a result, the district issued the following letter to Hays CISD parents:

The safety of our students is always foremost on our list of priorities, so we take these concerns seriously...we continue to encourage students to report anything they see or hear that causes them concern. Fortunately, in this case, it was a misunderstanding and there was no threat to our school or need to conduct a lock down.